Mango Quinoa Salad

By popular demand!  Andi Rawlin's Quinoa salad

Basic Cooked Quinoa

by Our Best Bites

Yields: about 2 C cooked quinoa

2/3 C dry quinoa

1  1/3 cups water or broth (chicken, vegetable, or beef)

1 pinch salt

Place quinoa in a bowl and cover with 1 inch of water.  Gently stir and carefully pour out excess water.  Add water again until it covers quinoa by 1 inch.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

While quinoa is soaking, bring 1 1/3 C water or broth, and pinch of salt, to a boil on the stovetop.  Reduce heat to simmer. Drain quinoa from soaking water using a fine mesh sieve.  Add grains to simmering water on stove top.  Place tight-fitting lid on pot and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the water is evaporated.  Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork.

Mango Quinoa Salad

Recipe adapted from Ali Vincent (Biggest Loser)

2 cups cooked quinoa* at room temperature, or chilled

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup)

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

*Quinoa can be cooked in water or broth.  I suggest using vegetable or chicken broth for enhanced flavor, but plain water works great too.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.  In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad.  Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.

(***I just use whatever I have for this recipe. I usually leave out the mango just because I can’t ever pick out a decent one and I don’t miss it much, sometimes I’ll add extra cilantro and an orange bell pepper, etc. I’ll leave out the onions if I don’t have any, or add smoked pork. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.)